“Crone... the most dangerous, the most radical, the most revolutionary woman in existence. This old woman stands between the worlds of rationality and mythos. She is the knucklebone on which these two worlds turn”
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Táimid ar bĂs — we are excited to share our seasonal care package The Nudge with you as we enter Samhain here in the northern hemisphere. This is a correction on yesterday's email which was sent in error.
As I write, it feels as though we are in descent. We are being wintered right to the marrow of our bones. And the Cailleach is calling us further down and further in.
We are living through a collective Samhain. This is a time of revelation, an apocalypse in its truest sense, where all that was hidden is being unveiled.
We are traversing the liminal terrain of deep time. The ancestors are near and the boundaries between living and dead, seen and unseen, grow porous.
My heart is heavy as I grieve the profound loss of our friend and colleague Manchán who is imithe ar shlĂ na fĂrinne, gone in the way of the truth.
And yet, amidst the sorrow, I am finding glimmers of beauty all around me.
Cuireann sĂ© gliondar ar mo chroĂ, it stirs joy in my heart.
The sweet soul medicine of our Scoil Scairte meitheal, as we follow the clues and cues of our máthairtheanga, mother tongue.
The sighting of a magnificent crane down by the river behind my home in the mountains.
The haunting voice of Lisa O’Neill that leaves me utterly faoi draĂocht spellbound.
The powerful truth woven through Hymn to All the Restless Girls, the luminous new poetry collection from Annemarie Nà Churreáin.
The compassionate trauma-informed leadership embodied by Catherine Connolly in the Irish presidential campaign, grounded and full of fierce grace.
And through it all the great wheel turns, inviting us to spiral ever deeper into the eternal rhythm of life, death and rebirth.
Samhain is the primal portal into the void.
This ancient wisdom is not merely seasonal, it speaks directly to a world quaking beneath the weight of unprocessed pain. On this trembling threshold, I am reminded of the tender words of Educator and Indigenous land rights activist Vanessa Machado de Oliveira Andreotti…
“This requires a palliative care of a system that is dying, at the same time that we hold space for the birth of something new, undefined potentially, but not necessarily wiser because it will depend on what we learn from the mistakes of the old. So we have to create that space, the transition space, where we become both death doulas and birth doulas at the same time.”
Beir bua — with victory,
May the force be with us
Kathy
Credit: Alexa Coyne
About Samhain:
Samhain marks the beginning of the Celtic New Year, the cross-quarter fire festival between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. It is the festival of the Dead, a time of initiation into the darkness of the womb and the tomb.
As the veils between worlds grow thin, life and death intertwine and the unseen stirs close. Our ancestors honoured this threshold as a time to reflect, release and begin again, to shed what no longer serves and to plant the seeds of new potential in the fertile dark.
In Irish mythology, we meet the Cailleach, the Great Crone and Creatrix, guardian of the land and Queen of Winter. She calls us to descend, to rest and to remember that darkness is not an ending but a beginning - the alchemy of death into new life.
Samhain invites us to listen deeply, to honour the ancestors and to enter the mystery with courage and reverence, trusting in the wisdom of the dark to guide our becoming.
Credit: @gaia_files
3 journal prompts to inspire you:
🕯️ What signs of the thinning veil do you sense around you?
🕯️ How do you embrace both darkness and light within yourself and in the world around you?
🕯️ How can you create a sacred space for rest and receptivity, allowing yourself to be replenished at this time?
What's coming up at The Trailblazery:
As the Great Wheel turns, we are invited to pause and remember what we have travelled through together. We are excited to let you know what the future holds for our community here at The Trailblazery.
Beyond The Veil
An online trilogy of Samhain-inspired immersive experiences
We are delighted to announce that Beyond the Veil, our Samhain-inspired trilogy starts TONIGHT, Sunday, Oct 26, at 7pm Irish / 3pm ET / 12pm PT.
You can still join us for a deep journey of exploration through story, song, music, and communal ritual in response to the season of Samhain. Together, we’ll gather at this potent threshold, when the veil between worlds grows thin, to listen, remember and rekindle our connection to the unseen.
Guided by three mná feasa (wise women) - Dragún (Medicine Woman, Ceremonialist & Grandmother trained in Irish & Native American Indigenous traditions), Tree Carr (Dream Guide, Death Doula, Mystic, Esoteric Educator, Author, Singer, Filmmaker & Musician) and Pat McCabe / Weyakpa Najin Win / Woman Stands Shining (Diné [Navajo] Mother, Activist, Artist & Ceremonial Leader), this three-part alchemical journey invites us to cross the threshold together.
We will also receive the musical blessings of Leah Song (singer-songwriter, multi-instrumental musician, storyteller, poet, and activist) and Jenny Nà Ruiséil (Yoga Teacher, Musician, Mentor, Coach).
Beyond The Veil is a call to gather at the place between worlds, where the Crone tends to her cauldron, stirring her sacred alchemical brew and to meet the fierce wintering our planet is experiencing with courage, creativity and heart.
For more info and to book your place, visit our website here.
3 curated resources to mind your life and nourish your senses in the days ahead:
♪ Listen: For your ears
In this conversation, Vanessa Andreotti explores how humanity is living through a civilizational transition, the death of dominant systems and the uncertain birth of new ones. She invites us to tend to what is dying with care while holding space for what wants to emerge. Her message centers on radical humility, relational accountability and learning from our mistakes so that the new world isn’t a repetition of the old.
✯ Watch: For your eyes
As we prepare to journey Beyond the Veil, we invite you to explore this insightful TEDx talk by Tree Carr, dream guide, death doula and one of the wise women leading our Samhain trilogy. In this talk, Tree delves into the language of dreams and the symbols that surface from the subconscious, offering profound reflections on what our dreams reveal about life, vulnerability and transformation.
♥ Read: For your heart
In this beautiful article, writer and folklorist David Halpin traces the origins and meanings of the dumb supper, a silent meal prepared to welcome the spirits of the departed into our homes, revealing how remembrance, ritual and reverence intertwine at this liminal time of year.
𖦹 Witness: For your soul
You can witness Manchán's funeral celebration here. It was an incredible gathering of the tuath in his honour. I hope to see you at the Hill of Uisneach on Nov 01 for his Months Mind and a scattering of his ashes at a powerful place close to his heart.
May this Samhain season serve you in alchemising your pain into purpose. May all beings know peace.
Thank you for walking this path with us,
BeannachtaĂ,
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery
